WATER SUPPLY.

Gisborne Times, Volume XIX, Issue 1498, 5 July 1905, Page 3

WATER SUPPLY.

an animated debate.

1 ;; AS the Borough Council lost evening, LfOaplsin Tusker wrote forwarding copies ! i of tbo resolutions passed at the mot-tiog of r'ii'rtteiP»y°w hold last week to considor the fcl watlir loan proposals. Tho writer added : / | «Aai tho resolutions of the public moeiing ' were passed either unanimously or else by overwhelming majorities, it is hoped your Oounoil will attach soma weight to them, t-'f and comply so for as you deem it just to t. (be viows of tuu ratepayers.” I The roading of tho letter hud a most ; disturbing effect upon Cr Shoridau. “It i is tho greatest piece of colossal impudenoo fir],l have ever hoaid,” ho commoncod. “ Who is this Captain Tuckor who sonds forward £ tbfcso resolutions by » few people, who ! wfertbso a-hamed of themselves that tba.v F| did not care about giving their names? t They did Dot ask for the resolutions to be I sent to tho Council. ’We ought to roply to I them, and lot them ee~ too »ra not going f to he humbugged A faw individuals appease their insatiable desire for notoriety by sending along this rubbish to us. Are wa to listen to snob arrant twaddle from a i small minority ? To treat this matter | ssriouely will be 10 establish a bad precedent. I* is an attempt to do away with the independence oi this Council. Are we to be dictated to oy thirty people ? For my own part I cannot see that these people by resolution authorised Captain Tuokor to convey the resolutions jto tho Council. It is an noheard of thing that any member of tho Council should got a few of hW advocates to pass a vote of conBurc on tho Council for tbs good work they have done. I therefore move that this Council regards this communication as an insult to thoir iutcdligenoe. It is only an attack by a mioroseopio minority of malcontents. and a reply should bo sent to this effect. There is another thing I should like to say, and that is that I am surprised and grieved that year Worship should have j shown eo little backbone in acceding to the requests of tho requisiUonists.” Or Whinray, humorously: That is a very bard knock for Your Worehip from Or Bberidan. Cr Harding: I do'not know that there is anythiog before tho Council. Did tho papers so far forget themselves as to forget §3 record that the meeting desired the : resolutions to go to the Council ? Cr Lysnar : How does Captain Tucker = sign himself ? :: The Mayor : For the petitioners.. Cr Lysnar to Cr Harding : Have you seconded Cr Hheridan's motion ? You are I speaking to It. Cr Harding: I would not go as far as that

Cr Bees : I will second the motion pro forma. I will not go as far as Or Sherii dan, bnt I think that Your Worship was e unwise in aeceding to the request of a few malcontents. Cr Harding : I will move an amendment that the document be loit on the table for fcnuro reference. »| CrtWhinray : That will only be evading the question, and it will come along again. Or Galley seconded the amendment. 1 Cr Sheridan expressed himself satisfied with she amendment, and asked leave to withdraw the motion. . ' This was agreed to. - Cr Lysnar, in the coarse of a vigorous reply, took Or Sheridan severely to tasK for his remarks in regard to those persons who signed the requisition and attended the meeting. Ho agreed with Or Wm nrQ y that the Council was only evading the 'sque-tion. The action of the Council in inis’"'matter wa3 characteristic of their conduct right through tho discussion on the water question. Cr Sheriday : Who says so ? It is only because they do not agree with you. Cr Lysnar: I did not interrupt you, Or Sheridan, so allow me to finish. Cr Sheridan : I ta k grammatically, Cr laVßaar. That is more than you can do. Cr JLysnar: If I ungrammatical that has absolutely no bearing' on tbe water question. ..... , Continuing, Or Lysnar said that as to the resolutions of the ratepayers being an insult to the Council, the remarks which had fallen from Cr Sheridan that evening Were doubly ho. Cr Sheridan s remarks were a direct insult to the intelligence of the people of the town, . Proceeding, Or Xiyanar s&id -fche meeting waß attended by nearly 400 people, a statement which was received with ridicule by several councillors. Cr Harding: Ho no* make a statement ef that kind, because it is absolutely incorrect. - Cr Ijysnar : Were yon there l ■ Cr Harding: No, I was not; DUi I was informed by reliable persons that at the outside there were not over 150 present, and that only SO voted. _ . Or Hysnar : We gave out 200 leaflets at the door, and there were many persons Who could not get them. • , Cr Miller: One man go* 30 for the museums of the colony. (Laughter.) Cr Colley : What are we discussing l <3r Lysnar : If the Council does not treat fthlf? matter with more courtesy other steps wm have to be taken. If they do not like it they have an honorable course before flhsm. They should all resign. Several Councillors laughed. ... Cr Lysnar': Several members laugh, but this is no* a laughing matter ; those who nay the piper will not laugh. - If the Cone-, oil feel themselves hampered they have an honorable course to take. Cr Whinray commented at some lengtn on tho several resolutions, agreeing that the first was a very good one, there being In his mind a strong doubt as to tbe suitability of the pipeß. _ The Mayor: You mean durability, lhey are suitable enough, because they have been tried elsewhere. Cr Whinray : I am not like my friend Cr Sheridan, a logician. I said • suitability,” and I stick to it, if they are not durable then they aro not (suitable. The Mayor: If Cr LysDar says that there were nearly 400 people at the meeting then that makes his case much worse, because only about thirty voted. Continuing, the Mayor said tho Council were bound to receive the resolutions, coming as they aid from a number of tho ratepayers. He con Id see nothing in the resolutions to prevent tbs Council proceeding with t.he work, in fact two of the resolutions comprised what the Council had dune. Cr Bright said that tbe matter was one in regard to which one should not be P H3 ' eive. He agreed with Cr Bees in regard to the requisition, but be did not go so tar as to censure the Mayor for calling the meeting. Seeing that tho ptt'.-ion tra<®srsed tbe actions of tbe Council and deal with matters which had already been ecided by a large majority lie thought the Council might wail havo been consulted as to whether a public meeting should have been called. It would bo as well in future cases for His Worship to adopt this course. That from the information ho had gathered of the meeting there wore not more than one hundred and fiity persons present and only thirty voted. The larger the attend aoce tbe worse for the resolutions. Con Sinning, Cr Bright said 11 the whola thiog sias emanated from a gentleman .on tho opposite side of the table, because tbe Council have decided to pass over one engineer and taka on another. There is no usb disguising that fact. The resolutions are hi 3 own words at this table, both in regard to the dangerous grouod and spiral pipes. If wo wait to get the unanimous consent of the burgesses ;to the St ter proposals we shall have to wait till doom's <iay. For one, I think the matter ba3 been deeided and I am prepared to take my share of tho responsibility. Eiysr.ar: And go on with tlio steel pipes — , Ct Bright: You have had your say, 7 and I am not going to bo interrupted by you. Cr Lysnar : I say, go oa. Cr Bright: lam told tbat at the meetsing Cr- Lysnar went even so far "as to threaten a Supreme Court action. Cr LysDar: You ought to go to the , meeting end get properly educated. Or Bright; I shall never come to you Sor that. ' Cr Lvsnar: You have to be educated. Cr Bright: —When Mr Lysnar has done I will go on. (To Mr Lysnar) : Cannot von keep quiet for two minutes. Or Lysnar: I will try and 4o so. L ln S anewer So Cr Bright the Mayor said that ho understood Cr Lysnar at the meeting to threaten a Supreme Court action. Cr Bright : Then if he did so, it is brow beating of tbo worst typo, and I for one resont it. Wo are here for the purpose of pending tine water loan, so site., best

advantage. Wo are striving to do that ana I care no more for tho small minority that we have hors than I do for the man in tho_ muoD. Evory man sitting at tho table is anxious to do his boat. Dooa it ever ooour to Cr Lyenar that tho majority of the Council may bo right, and ho is in tho wrong ? All'these matters have been deoidod by tho Couucil,' and must bo harried out. Or Lyanar : I rise to a point of explanation. ‘As usual Or Bright has got hold of tho wrong ood of the stiok- Had ho gone to tho mooting bo might havo learnt something. Or Bees : la this to bs a second speech. Cr Miller : It is n personal explanation only that you oon make. Cr Lysnar: I did not make aDy such absurd and idiotio statement. What I did say I will say agaiD. That is that if the Council departs from tho conditions stipulated iu tho voting paper, that any individual ratepayer oan apply to the Supremo Court for an injunction to stay proceedings. Cr Blight: That is logal advice you are giving us, <Or Lysnar : You can term it what you like

I Cr Reos : Cr .Lysnar has made his explanation; ho ia finished. Cr Lysnar : I may bo finished aooording to Cr Roes, but I have not yot finished my explanation. Cr Lysnar prooeedod to explain matters in connection with Mr Hay’s estimate in regard to the cost of oast iron pipes, but was met with objeo* tions from Crs Rees and Bright, who contended that ho was departing from the explanation he desired to make.

In replying to Cr Bright, Cr Lysnar added: “lon o.n paint Lyenar [as black as a nigger, and it will not trouble him. Bright’s paint can go on and go off, but it will not stick at all.”

Cr Miller thought that, In iho best Interests of the ratepayers, the communication should be allowed to lie on the table.

Or Harding, in reply, strongly supported the suggestion limiting the commission to bo paid to the engineer to the amount of his estimate. The motion that the letter should lie on the table was oarried by seven to three, Crs Ijysnar, Webb, and Whinray voting against it.

Cr Webb gave notioe of the following | motion for next meeting : “ That before finorarrangements are made with Mr Hay and his appointment confirmed, that rules 51 and 52 shall be oomplied with.” [The rules referred to deals with the appointments, etc., of officers, and roads as follows: (51) No appointment to any permanent offioe at the disposal of the Council shall fcako place until seven clear days’ public notice shall have boen given by advertisement in, one or more newspapers circulating in the borough, inviting applications from qualified candidates for the same. (52) The salary or allowance attached to all offices and places at the disposal of the Council, shall in all eases be fixed before they prooeed to appoint any person to 6.11 the same, and before She advertisement inviting applications as aforesaid, and shall be specified in such advertisement.]